Explosive and method of making same.



UNITED STATES REFERENCE PATENT OFFICE.

JONAS EMILEBLOMEN ANDHENRY o. ASPINWALL, \QF POMPTON TOWN- SHIP, NEW JERSEY.

EXPLOSIVE AND METHOD OF MAKING SAME.-

SPEGI F ICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 674,159, dated May 14,1901.

' Application filed November 10,1900. Serial No. 36.051. (No specimens) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JONAS EMILE BLoi/ntiv Making Same,of which the following a speci- I fication;

Our invention relates to a high explosive and method of making same, which high explosive may form a base for other high explosives or for celluloid compounds.

Our object is to produce an explosive which wecan regulate in such a manner as'toobtain agreater or lesser degree of force, as may be-desired or may be most suitable for the purpose for which it may be-intended, and to produce an explosive which can be safely manufactured and handled and at a relatively low cost.

In our application, Serial No. 21,709, filed June 27,1900, we described at length the conitration of cellulose with a hydrocarbon of 2 5 the aromatic group- -such, for example, as

benzene-and in our application, Serial No. 21,710, filed June 27, 1900, we described at length the co-nitration of a hydrocarbon of for example, as phenol and cresol.

Our present application is directed to'the co nitration of cellulose with a hydroxyl derivative of a hydrocarbon-such, for example, as a member of the phenol group -or with both a hydroxyl derivative of a hydrocarbon and a hydrocarbon of the aromatic group.

In using the term cellulose itis intended to include Wood and plant fiber in general, withou tlimitin'g it to what may be technically included in the term cellulose.

Examples of the hydroxyl derivatives of the hydrocarbons which we find it practicable to employ are the members of the phenol group, such as phenol and cresol, and examples of the hydrocarbons which We find it practicable to em ploy are members of the aromatic group-such,for exarn-ple,as benzene,toluene, and naphthalene.

When the hydroxyl derivative of the hyserved.

drocarbon or both the hydrocarbon itself and the hydroxyl derivative of the hydrocarbon is or are co-nitrated with cellulose,a solvent effect of one substance upon the other is ob- The result of this co-nitration is an explosive combining the explosive efiects and properties of n-itro-cellulose with the explosive efiects and properties of the nitrated hydroxyl derivatives of the hydrocarbons or of both the hydrocarbons and their hydroxyl derivatives. The solvent effect of the co-nitrated substances upon each other results in an intimate mixture partially or wholly dissolved, together forming a colloided mass. This colloidingwill be more or less complete, depending upon the proportions of the cellulose aud the hydroxyl derivative,or both the hydroxyl derivative and the hydrocarbon. The product obtained by these means has been found to be comparatively insensitive to shock or friction and is the explosive base sought and which forms the subject-matter of this application.

This base may be made to fulfil other re-. quirements of an explosive substance, as follows: We may add one or more of the oxygenbearing salts-such, for example, as the nitrates, the chlorates, or the perchlorates. of

barium, sodium, potassium, and ammonium. We mayalsoadd an inert organic-substance such as camphor, Vaseline, petrolatum, or castor-dil-should we desire to produce a celluloid or should we desire to slow down the combustion and provide a less violent explosive. The addition of the oxygen-bearing salts or inert organic substanc s may be readily effected by means of any of the wellknown apparatuses for inserting or incorporating substances. The addition may be effected in a dry state, or the substances may be wet, or the-co-nitrated product may be wholly or partially dissolved in a solvent and.

the substances then added. As an example of the solvents that can be used may be men- SEARCH ROOM tioned acetone, am yl acetate, methyl-alcohol,

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grade for a period of eight days, more or less, with occasional stirring or until the resulting product is immediately soluble in cold water. We then nitrate this phenol-sulfonic acid with a weak nitric acid of about 36 Baum or of sutficient str ngth to obtain the desired product. The resulting product is of a heavy syrupy consistency at a temperature ofabout centigrade and consists of a mixture of mono-nil o and di-nitro phenol with some unnitrated phenol. Care must be taken that the acid employed in this preliminary nitra: tion is not too strong, so that the nitrated product shall not be of a higher nitration than is expressed by the terms mono-nitro and di-nitro. It is now necessary to remove any free acid and other impurities as far as possible. This may be accomplished by washing with Water at a low temperature (less than 20 centigrade) and the water removed by means of centrifugal extractor, by filtration, or by melting the substance and separation or similar well -known means. We now take, say, sixteen parts of the mono-nitro phenol above described and eight parts of a hydrocarbon, such as naphthalene, and thoroughly mix them. By digesting for some days (five days, more or less) at a temperature of about 30 centigrade we obtain a homogeneous compound consisting of the mononitro'phenol and the naphthalene which solidifies at a temperature below 25 centigrade. Take two pounds of-the'above-described mixture in a liquid state. To this we add one pound of cellulose and treat the mixture with a weak nitric acid or mixture of nitric and sulfuric acids in a manner bon hereinabove described may be omitted at pleasure, the hydroxyl derivative of the hydrocarbon being treated as hereinabove fully setforth and mixed with the cellulose for the purpose of nitrating the two together. This will produce an explosive and may for some purposes be preferred instead of the product produced by the co-nitration of the cellulose with both a hydrocarbon and a hydroxyl derivative of a hydrocarbon.

In order to produce the best results, develop more fully the explosive force, and obtain the highest value as an explosive, We may add one or more of the oxygen-hearing saltssuch as the nitrates, chlorates, or perchlorates of potassium, sodium, barium, and ammonium.

The addition or incorporation of the salts with the co-nitrated product may be effected by any well-known method of mixing. They may beadded in a dry state or they may be g wet, or the co-nitrated product may be melted, or it may be dissolved in any suitable solventsuch as acetone, methyl-alcohol, amyl acetate,acetic ether,or the 1ikeand the salts may be added to the liquid or plastic mass thus formed.

We do not confine ourselves to any particular method of mixing, as most of the wellknown methods will efiect the results desired.

The proportions of the oxygen-bearing salt or salts tobe addedtothe co-nitrated prodnot will vary with the results we desire to ob tain and also according to'the nitration of the co-n'itrated product.

The strength of the explosive may be va ried according to the proportion of the oxygen-bearing salts added.

' What we claim is 1. An explosive consisting of a colloided com minutcd friable mass containing the following co-nitrated substances, viz; cellulose and a hydroxyl derivative of a hydrocarbon, substantially as specified.

2. An explosive consisting of a colloided comminuted friable mass containing the following co-nitrated substances, viz; cellulose,

a hydrocarbon, substantially as specified.

3. The method of forming an explosive cona hydrocarbon and a hydroxyl derivative oflo sisting in nitrating together cellulose and a.

hydroxyl derivative of a hydrocarbon, substantially as specified.

4. The method of forming an explosiveconsisting in nitrating together cellulose, a hydrocarbon and a hydroxyl derivative of a hy drocarbon, substantially as specified. x In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our invention we have signed our names, in.

presence of two, witnesses, this 25th day of October, 1900. r

JONAS EMILE 'BLOMEN.

HENRY C. ASPINWALL. Witnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES,

C. S. SUNDGREN.

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